Iran Invites Germany to Produce and Export Iranian Gas to Europe

Iran has officially proposed to German companies to invest in the development of phases of South Pars and to transfer its gas to Europe. Concurrently, Hamidreza Araqi, the CEO of the National Iranian Gas Company, stated that Europe is interested in receiving Iranian gas after the lifting of sanctions. According to the Oil and Energy Information Network, Shana, Iran increased its annual gas production from South Pars by 10% last year, reaching 111 billion cubic meters. The total gas production in Iran last year was 202 billion cubic meters, of which about 10 billion cubic meters was exported to Turkey. This year, gas production from South Pars is expected to increase by the same amount, and total gas production in the country is projected to reach 365 billion cubic meters within three years. In this context, the Mehr news agency reported on May 7 that over 100 German industrialists, traders, and investors are traveling to Iran, and Mojtaba Khosrotaj, the Deputy Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade, proposed investment in South Pars and the export of Iranian gas to Europe to this German delegation. ISNA reported on Sunday that Volker Treier, Deputy of the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry, who traveled to Iran with the German delegation, stated that "there are independent states in Germany whose delegations have spoken with Iranian companies, and the demand for participation in this meeting is much higher than the number of people present in this hall. We could have invited as many investment applicants as a stadium could hold." Mehr news agency also referred to negotiations between Iran and the European Union to develop gas cooperation hosted by the Bulgarian Prime Minister at the Presidential Palace in Sofia, noting that Iran was once again invited to the Nabucco project with the precondition of lifting sanctions. The Nabucco project, which was supposed to transport gas from Iran and the Caspian Sea region to Europe, was officially canceled in 2013 and replaced by the Southern Gas Corridor project with changes in the gas transit route. Previously, it was planned that gas from the Caspian region would pass through Bulgaria to reach Austria, but the Southern Gas Corridor is set to transport gas from Greece to Italy. In the past month, Bulgaria has repeatedly called for the revival of the Nabucco project. Meanwhile, in April, shareholders of the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which are part of the Southern Gas Corridor route, expressed their willingness for Iran to participate in these projects after the lifting of sanctions. The Southern Gas Corridor is expected to begin exporting gas from the Caspian region to Europe within four years. Nevertheless, Hamidreza Araqi announced on Tuesday that Europeans have shown interest in importing gas from Iran, but there has been no discussion regarding negotiations with them so far. The European Union has sanctioned the import of oil and gas from Iran since 2012, but nuclear negotiations have increased hopes for the lifting of sanctions. Iran has approximately 34 trillion cubic meters of natural gas reserves, with about 40% of its total gas reserves located in South Pars.